Albert Keeps Showdown Line Alive

The weekend of March 12-13 was a good one for some emerging sires in Australia and New Zealand. Magic Albert comes from a branch of the Nearco sire line that has been a purely Australian one for several generations. He is a son of Champion 3-Year-Old and successful sire Zeditave, who is turn is by The Judge, by Showdown (Champion English 2-Year-Old, and twice Champion Sire in Australia), a son of the Nearco horse Infatuation, winner of the Dewhurst, Royal Lodge, and Greenham Stakes, but a disappointing stallion.

A group II and III winner at around a mile, Magic Albert started off very inexpensively – he was still advertised at only A$13,750 for the 2010-2011 breeding season – but has now sired three grade I winners from his first five crops, including Ilovethiscity, a 3-year-old who took the Randwick Guineas (gr. I) at the weekend. Ilovethiscity is out of a mare by Kenfair, a son of Kenmare. As Kenmare is a Nasrullah/My Babu cross, this may hook up with Accipter (grandsire of the dam of Magic Albert), who is by Damascus (dam by My Babu) out of a mare by a son of Nasrullah. Ilovethiscity also has a double of Turn-to, who is by Royal Charger (three-parts-brother to Nasrullah) out of a half sister to the dam of My Babu.

In New Zealand, a real up-and-comer who we have mentioned before is Thorn Park (by the Nureyev horse, Spinning World). He has 11 stakes winners from his first three crops, and added a new grade I winner – his second – when The Party Stand took the New Zealand Stakes (gr. I). The Party Stand is TrueNicks rated A++ and is one of two stakes winners from only two starters by Thorn Park out of Royal Academy mares (brings together Storm Bird – sire of Thorn Park’s broodmare sire, Bluebird – and Nijinsky II). Thorn Park’s second weekend stakes winner came in Australia, and was the Mr. Tiz Trophy scorer, Magic Briar (TrueNicks B+). She is out of a mare by Danske, a Danehill horse who is Northern Dancer/Sir Ivor cross, so parallel to Thorn Bird’s broodmare sire, Bluebird.

Staying with Royal Academy for a second, we’ll also note that he is in the sire line of Black Caviar (by Royal Academy’s son Bel Esprit (AUS) (TrueNicks,SRO)), who continued to add to her legend by running her undefeated streak to ten in the Newmarket Stakes (gr. I). Her target for the next two months will be to add four more victories to match the record of 14 straight set by the mighty Phar Lap.

Street Cry (IRE) (TrueNicks,SRO), who sired Zenyatta, something of a U.S. counterpart to Black Caviar, had an excellent weekend with Shocking (out of a Danehill mare, and TrueNicks A++) taking the Australian Cup (gr. I), and Whobegotyou (out of a mare by Carnegie, by Sadler’s Wells, and TrueNicks rated A+) successful in the Blamey Stakes (gr. II). His record as a “world sire” is pretty hard to match.

Another double was for the young New Zealand stallion Savabeel (by Zabeel, out of the excellent racemare Savannah Success, who in turn is by Success Express, a Prince John grandson who won the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I)). He took the A. V. Kewney Stakes (gr. II) courtesy of Do Ra Mi (TrueNicks A), who is out of a Snippets (Tom Fool line, through Silly Season/Lunchtime), mare. The following day, his son Kudakulari annexed the Canberra Guineas. TrueNicks rated A, he is out of a mare by the Last Tycoon horse O’Reilly, and is one of six stakes winners from 67 starters on a Zabeel/Last Tycoon cross. With his second crop only three, Savabeel now has six stakes winners and 12 stakes horses.

At the other end of the age scale, much-missed Danzig son Anabaa was responsible for Anabandana (TrueNicks A++), who is out of the Nureyev mare Great Notice, with both Anabaa and Great Notice having second dams by Riverman.

There was also a lot of juvenile activity in Australia. Stratum, last year’s Leading Freshman Sire, was on the mark in the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (gr. II) with Running Tall (TrueNicks A++). Running Tall is out of Fleeting Touch, an imported daughter of Touch Gold (TrueNicks,SRO) (Deputy Minister), a three-parts-sister to graded winner Fast Cookie, and half sister to Champion U.S. 2-Year-Old Midshipman (TrueNicks,SRO). The granddam is Fleet Lady, a multiple graded-winning daughter of Avenue of Flags. Stratum’s sire, Redoute’s Choice (by Danehill), is showing quite a lot promise as a sire of sires, and his freshman son Nadeem (AUS) (TrueNicks) was represented by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (gr. III) captress Triple Asset. Another freshman is shuttle sire Ad Valorem (TrueNicks,SRO) (one of the last good sons of Danzig). He’s only had seven starters to date, but one of those, Uate (from a mare by Over, a son of the Sir Tristram horse Dr. Grace) took the Skyline Stakes (gr. III). The Skyline’s equivalent for 2-year-old fillies, the Sweet Embrace Stakes (gr. III), went Shared Reflections, who is by Umatilla out of a mare by Umatilla’s half brother, Hurricane Sky, and so inbred to the outstanding mare Dancing Show.

There was some other close inbreeding in Australian weekend stakes. The Randwick City Stakes (gr. III) went to Saint Encosta (TrueNicks A++), who is by Encosta de Lago, out of a mare by Barathea, and so has the brothers Fairy King and Sadlers Wells 2x3. The Moomba Stakes was taken by Panipique (TrueNicks A++), a son of Testa Rossa (by Perugino, by Danzig out of the dam of Sadler’s Wells and Fairy King), out of a mare by Spinning World (by Nureyev), so having the closely related Perugino and Nureyev 2x3.

Moving on to Hong Kong, the Macau Trophy (Hong Kong gr. III event) went to Irish-bred Montecchio, who is by the successful young speed sire Acclamation (by Royal Applause, by Waajib, who is by El Gran Senor’s brother Try My Best). The dam is by Linamix out of a Rainbow Quest mare. Meanwhile in Singapore, the Polytrack Mile Championship (Singapore gr. III) went to Better Than Ever (TrueNicks A++), an Australian-bred with a U.S. pedigree, as he’s by French Deputy (Deputy Minister) out of an Unbridled's Song (TrueNicks,SRO) mare. The granddam, Bedimpled, is by Stately Don, out of Beribboned, a Well Decorated daughter of Battle Creek Girl, from the family of Tricky Creek, Wavering Girl, Military, and Speed Dialer.

In Peru, Bradock won the XXVII Asociacion Latinoamercana de Jockey Clube S E Hipodromos (gr. I). Bradock has a U.S. background on both sides of his pedigree. His sire, Keseff, is by Claim (by Mr. Prospector) out of a Verbatim mare. The dam is by El Duce, who is by the In Reality horse Niobrara. The second dam, Saratoga Moon, is by Saratoga Six, out of Dilmoun, a Californian grade III-winning daughter of Kalamoun.

In Argentina, Thunder Gulch (TrueNicks,SRO) had the first and second in the Ricardo Ezequiel M. Fernandez Guerrico (gr. II), taken by Bouclette Gulch, who has won four graded stakes in her last five starts, and eight graded events lifetime. TrueNicks rated B+, Bouclette Gulch is out of a mare by the Icecapade horse Ski Champ.

The Green Dancer branch of Nijinsky II is still alive in South America, through Don Omar, a son of Oak Dancer (who, rather ironically, was out of a three-parts-sister to Nijinsky II’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe conqueror, Sassafras). Don Omar was represented by Dona Fatal, winner of the Clasico Los Haras (gr. III). She is out of a mare by the Mr. Prospector horse Choctaw Ridge. Another branch of Northern Dancer to score in that country was Nureyev, who was represented by Galit (by Asidero, by Fadeyev), winner of the Gran Premio Municipal (gr. II). He is out of a mare by Manguin, a son of Nureyev’s broodmare sire, Forli.